


You Give Me (Hay) Fever

by raendown



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 19:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18817462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raendown/pseuds/raendown
Summary: As first dates go he supposes this one could have been a lot worse. Tobirama, at least, seems determined to do better.





	You Give Me (Hay) Fever

“What are we even here for?” Madara demanded, arms crossed tightly over his chest and face buried deep in the wide collar of his robes. A flicker of irritation crossed Tobirama’s face and he almost felt bad for being so moody. Almost. Not really. It wasn’t his fault.

“You know, most people would consider it romantic that I made the time to come do this with you,” his companion pointed out. “What with recently being named the Nidaime and trying to sort out the mess Hashirama left behind when he passed the hat on to me. If you like I can just go back to the office and keep working.”

“I never said you should leave.” Trying to be subtle about it, Madara turned his head to sniffle a little.

His efforts were foiled when a pale hand appeared to catch his chin and bring his face back around. Tobirama’s face was heart-wrenchingly concerned when their eyes met.

“Are you…crying?”

“No!”

“You’re sniffling,” his date pointed out. Madara sneered as best he could without lifting his face out from the protective barrier of his collar.

“I’m not crying! And I’m not sniffling! I was – shut up! There’s just something in my nose, that’s all.”

Tobirama leaned in a little closer, holding him in place when he tried to lean back away from that searching gaze. Whatever the man found in his inspection it made him frown deeper with what Madara had come to recognize as the face he made when he thought he’d done something terribly wrong. That definitely wasn’t the impression Madara was trying to give here.

“Perhaps I should have put a little more thought in to our first date.” Tobirama leaned away at last and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m aware this isn’t your usual sort of activity but, well, I’m not very good at romance myself. This just seemed…easier than trying to come up with something on my own. I apologize. That was lazy. If you’re still interested in a second date I promise I’ll try to make it something you’ll enjoy more than this.”

Such heartfelt words left Madara feeling like he’d been punched in the gut, all the air gone from his lungs and his stomach twisting with uncomfortable sensations. He fought not to squirm in place but could not resist the instinct to shrink down in to himself.

Feeling like the worst sort of asshole, he murmured quietly, “It was a fine idea. You don’t have to worry about it so much.”

“If I knew what it was about the cherry blossom viewing that you disliked so much then I’m sure I could better avoid anything similar in the future.” Tobirama’s tone was practical and even but his expression was so stupidly hopeful that it only caused Madara to sigh.

“Not your fault,” he insisted. “I never mentioned so there’s no way you could have known.”

“Known what?”

“I’m allergic to cherry blossoms,” Madara admitted, giving in to the urge to sniffle again and hoping that his eyes weren’t red enough for anyone else to assume he’d been crying. This was exactly why he tended to stay indoors whenever spring came around. It was much safer for his stupid allergies and there was always a little bottle of medicine hidden in his desk at work just in case someone opened a window.

Tobirama stared at him for a seemingly endless minute. Then he began to laugh.

“Is that all? You had me worried I’d done something wrong, you ass!”

“Well it’s embarrassing! I’m allergic to fucking _flowers_ and my best friend is a stupid nature freak and – it’s just ridiculous that, out of all the possible weaknesses I could have, my body chose cherry blossoms as the ultimate nemesis. I hate it.” His already tight arms tightened even more until his ribs creaked in protest and his lungs reminded him that he was already having trouble breathing.

As much as he despised being laughed at it was still nice to see a bit of humor on Tobirama’s face again instead of the apologetic sadness that had fallen over him before. His smile was bright and easy when he leaned over to pluck blossoms from Madara's hair and wrap an arm around his shoulders.

“Let’s get you somewhere healthier,” he suggested, pulling them both to their feet. A handkerchief appeared in his hand as if from nowhere to dab at the corners of Madara's eyes. “If you don’t mind stopping by my brother’s house so he can relieve your symptoms then I think I know somewhere we can go that would make for a much more intimate first date.”

“Do tell.” Madara kept his face buried in his collar and tried to tell himself it was because of his allergies, not because of the blush slowly creeping over his cheeks.

“A warm cup of tea by the fireplace in my living room, perhaps a throw blanket to ward off the chill. I only have one throw, however, so I’m afraid we would have to share.”

Madara harrumphed and looked away. “A terrible fate indeed. Well, what are you waiting for? Are you going to take me to your brother’s house or not? I was promised tea, Senju, so chop-chop! Don’t think I don’t know how much you want to show off that fancy jutsu of yours!”

He pretended not to hear it when Tobirama gathered him even closer and chuckled in his ear, deep rumbles that sent shivers racing down his spine as the hiraishin was activated and the two of them disappeared from their secluded hilltop in a spray of cherry blossoms.


End file.
